The present invention relates to a system for installing a fastener in a workpiece, particularly in a workpiece such as floor or wallboard overlying a metal joist or stud.
Hollow metal joists and studs are rapidly replacing wood as a structural material in many applications. Metal joists and studs are generally more available than wood, and the increasing scarcity of wood is rendering metal more attractive economically. However, an inhibiting factor in the substitution of metal for wood joists and studs has been the difficulty in efficiently fastening the overlying material, usually floor or wallboard, to the joist or stud. Conventional nails used with wood joists and studs are generally ineffective when a hollow metal joist or stud is the underlying support member.
One approach to attaching floor or wallboard to metal joists and studs involves the use of a special self-drilling screw fastener. The fastener has a drill point at its leading end, followed by screw threads. The fastener is rotated as it penetrates the wallboard drilling its own hole with the drill point which is then engaged by the screw threads which are self tapping. This system does not always adequately secure the board to the joist or stud because the drill point provides a smooth hole in the thin wall of the metal member, leaving the screw threads with little surface area to engage. The complex fasteners themselves are quite expensive, and this technique has not been fully successful. Other similar techniques have encountered similar difficulties.